Legislation that allows restaurants to temporarily offer to-go sales of beer and wine passed the Minnesota Senate on Thursday. The bill is authored by Senator Karin Housley (R-St. Marys Point) and Representative Jon Koznick (R-Lakeville). 

“Businesses across Minnesota have been devastated by the events of recent weeks. They’ve made the best of the situation by offering to-go sales of food – and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be allowed to sell their inventories of alcohol and make cash now,” said Senator Karin Housley (R-St. Marys Point), the bill’s chief author. “Minnesotans have turned out in droves to support their hometown establishments – and I suspect they will take advantage of these expanded offerings, too. The House is expected to take this up in the coming days and the governor has committed to signing it into law.”

The bill will temporarily allow all establishments with current on-sale liquor licenses to sell beer and wine for off-premise consumption, in addition to their takeout food offerings, for the duration of the peacetime emergency declaration. The alcoholic beverages will be required to be sold in the original, unopened packaging, and be limited to 72 ounces per order for beer and 750 milliliters per order for wine. The governing body of any municipality may vote to prohibit off-sale alcohol within its jurisdiction.

“They’re doing this in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, South Carolina, and many other states. This has bipartisan agreement and is something that can be done immediately to help hurting small businesses,” continued Senator Housley.

Senator Karin Housley, of St. Marys Point, represents the Forest Lake area and the St. Croix River Valley in the Minnesota Senate. Senator Housley is chairwoman of the Family Care and Aging Committee and is an assistant majority leader.